


Lost Reading Between the SMS

by fractionallyfoxtrot



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Misunderstandings, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-07-01
Packaged: 2019-05-31 12:53:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15119810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fractionallyfoxtrot/pseuds/fractionallyfoxtrot
Summary: Gwaine receives a distressing message from Leon while making his way home: "We need to talk."





	Lost Reading Between the SMS

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [Camelot Drabble](https://camelot-drabble.livejournal.com/) community and the prompt 'We Need to Talk.'

**Message from Leon  :** _Are you coming home soon?_

_Yeah omw 15 mins tops_

**Message from Leon  :** _Okay. We need to talk._

Gwaine stared at his mobile as life in the tube around him continued to hum and bustle and beat.

The space was warm and humid, the result of too many bodies rushing in and out in various degrees of saturation. It had been raining when Gwaine boarded the tube, his jacket and the front of his jeans on the far side of moist from his run to the tube station. His extremities were a touch cold and wet but that discomfort paled in comparison to the chill that encircled his heart.

_We need to talk._

Gwaine backed out of Leon’s message and the messaging app as a whole until he was looking at the cluttered home screen of his mobile. He reversed the process, opening the app and the message thread again, hoping that he’d been mistaken. But the words were still there, written in Leon’s precise insistence on using full sentences in his texts; four short words that threw a pale over Gwaine’s whole day.

_We need to talk._

He pocketed his mobile, not wanting to see the words any more. Gwaine shoved his hands into his jacket pockets and tried to think back to what could’ve prompted Leon to say that.

He thought everything had been going so well.

He thought they were happy, truly happy, something Gwaine never expected to find with Leon. He thought they’d made it through the rough times, that period after the initial haze of lust gave way to actually talking and listening and trying not to drive each other crazy. He thought they made it to a good place.

He thought moving in together was the start of something _real_.

And now Leon wanted to talk.

Gwaine felt his heart sink into a pit in his stomach as the tube continued along, moving closer and closer to a destination he’d been previously looking forward to reaching. He sank down low in his seat as the whir and hum of moving transportation mixed together with his disparaging thoughts and the constant clacking of Leon’s words.

_We need to talk._

_We need to talk._

_We need to talk._

By the time an automated voice called out the name of Gwaine’s stop and the tube doors hissed open, Gwaine’s whole body was numb in a way that was completely unrelated to his wet clothes. He moved on autopilot, leaving the tube station and walking towards their building, his hands balled up in the pockets of his jacket.

It was still raining but Gwaine didn’t move with any sense of haste.

He was fairly wet when he reached the flat and he was grateful for the small comfort of the heat being on. He peeled off his jacket and shoes and socks, leaving them on one of the boxes crowding the entryway. He went looking for Leon, wanting to get the worst over with, and he found him sitting in the living room.

He announced his presence with a lackluster, “Hey.”

Leon turned and smiled at him and it touched Gwaine’s guarded heart.

“Hi. I’ve been waiting for you.” Leon stood and approached him, his smile dimming as he took in Gwaine’s appearance. “You’re all wet,” he said, touching Gwaine’s shoulder. “Aren’t you cold? You should change your clothes.”

Gwaine tried to shake off Leon’s concern. “No, I mean, yeah but...” He took a breath which came out as a heavy sigh. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Oh, yes.”

Leon took Gwaine’s hand and led him to the wall facing the couch. Bookshelves and the half-built media console had been pushed aside and three different colors of paint had been tested on the wall. Leon put his arm around Gwaine as he stood them in front of the swatches.

“Which one of these do you like best?”

Gwaine gaped at Leon, who was studying the colors too intently to notice his complete and utter shock.

“I originally liked the egg shell but once I did the others it started to look a little yellow and-“

“ _This_ is why we needed to talk?!?” Gwaine shouted. His outburst caused Leon to pull away, obvious confusion on his face. “ _Paint colors?_ You texted me like _we were going to break up_ to talk about paint colors?!?”

Leon shook his head. “I didn’t-“

“You texted ‘We need to talk,’ full stop, and nothing else!” Gwaine accused, taking out his mobile to support his case. “To most people that’s an indicator that something is seriously wrong and definitive action is going to happen!”

“It is?”

“Yes, Leon!” Gwaine threw his mobile down on the couch and dragged his hands through his wet hair. “Do you have any idea how worried I was that this was over?”

Gwaine found that he was breathing heavily and he didn’t know what that had started. He tried to calm himself down, letting his hands drop to his sides as he closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He felt arms encompass him and he was encouraged to rest his head on Leon’s warm chest. His breathing slowed eventually, falling into a gentle rhythm that matched Leon’s.

“I’m sorry, Gwaine,” Leon said softly, stroking a soothing hand over Gwaine’s hair. “I didn’t know. I honestly didn’t,” Leon said when Gwaine scoffed. “I didn’t know and I didn’t mean it that way. I love you. I’m so sorry that I caused you so much worry.”

“Just…” Gwaine sighed, pulling back so he could see Leon’s face. “Don’t do that again, please? Or at least put a smiley or a happy emoji at the end of it.”

Leon laughed, the sound melting away Gwaine’s numbness. “I promise I won’t do it again.”

“Or you’ll use an emoji?”

“Or I’ll use an emoji.”

“Anything that’s not angry. Or the eggplant. Unless that’s what you’re going for,” Gwaine grinned.

“What does an eggplant have to do with anything?” Leon asked.

It was Gwaine’s turn to laugh. He laughed in Leon’s embrace, letting Leon’s genuine confusion and naivety offer additional comfort for his earlier ordeal. He tugged on Leon’s shirt to get him to meet him in a kiss, anxious to follow through on Leon’s suggestion that he change out of his wet clothes.

“Let me show you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had never tried to use emoji in a work before so I wasn't aware that doing so results in a known bug which discards any text following the emoji. These works were very helpful references for displaying emojis via work skins:
> 
>   * [How to Make iOS Text Messages on AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6434845/chapters/14756650)
>   * [All the Emoji](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6580324/chapters/15055576)
> 



End file.
